Downtown Birmingham streets were scheduled to close Saturday for a planned helicopter lift of a new sign atop the former AT&T City Center, marking another shift in the city's changing skyline. The building, a 30-story office tower built in 1972, is set to become known as Landing at The 600, with the housing company's branding planned high above downtown.
According to AL.com, some downtown streets were scheduled to close Saturday to accommodate the helicopter lift, which was expected to place the sign atop a building the company's founder, Bill Smith, described as one of the tallest on the Birmingham skyline. Smith founded Landing in late 2019 as a startup aimed at supplying housing for on-the-go professionals, and the company now operates in nearly a thousand properties nationwide, he said.
Smith framed the signage as more than a branding exercise. Birmingham, he said, is where Landing started, and it remains an important part of the company's story. Landing at The 600 also carries a distinction within the company's portfolio: it is Landing's first high-rise to receive its full branding, something Smith called a special milestone for the team.
From Shipt's UFO Logo to Landing's Skyline Debut
This isn't the first time Birmingham has watched Smith's companies claim space on its skyline. Landing installed signage atop the John Hand Building at 20th Street and 1st Avenue North in 2022, a project that followed years of history at that same building. Smith had leased the John Hand Building's bottom six floors and basement in 2014 for his earlier startup, grocery delivery service Shipt, which added its now-familiar UFO logo to the building in 2016, according to Bham Now.
Construction crews carefully dismantled that Shipt sign over President's Day Weekend in 2022 before Landing's own sign went up in its place. The outlet reported the replacement sign was installed 280 feet above ground, measuring 12 feet tall and 48 feet wide, and wired with 300 feet of LED lights. Landing officially unveiled that sign on February 19, the report noted.
Apartments Replacing Decades of Office Space
The former AT&T City Center's transformation into Landing at The 600 has been years in the making. Plans detailed in 2023 called for 435 apartment units inside the tower, offering one-, two- and three-bedroom options, the report on the redevelopment states. The building's decades as a corporate office tower now give way to a residential identity carrying Landing's name on the skyline itself.
A helicopter lift was expected Saturday as part of the tower's conversion, following Landing's 2022 sign installation on the John Hand Building. Smith has described Landing as a new way to stay for travelers across the country.
